What is multimedia?

Any combination of text, graphics, sounds, etc. that is viewed to you on a computer. Basically a mixture of medias.

When a user can choose the media content, then you have interactive multimedia.

When the user can navigate, then you have hypermedia.

History Of Multimedia

Pong first commerical multimedia product

Atari.

• Home System. Cartridges.

Nintendo

80's VR, head-mounted display, data glove.

i386 gave PCs power to use multimedia well.

People could burn their own CDs

90's

Adobe Photoshop

WWW - broswer, mosaic.

MPC - Multimedia Personal Computer standard.

DVDs

Convergence of technology - Devices will merge.

Education & Edutainment

Production Cycle

1) Project Planning - show the client the outline of your project. Storyboard. Materials, stock, new, talent, etc.

• Get a Commencement Fee.

• Time Line of project.

  • Visiual Interface

  • Prototype

  • Beta

  • Final

  Storyboarding - visual layout or map of your project.

• Depth Structure - The paths to following an application

• Surface Structure - One way in which a user will take.

  Gather your Media components before your begin your project.

2) Design & Product based on your outline.

3) Testing

4) Delivery

Multimedia Jobs

• Promotional CDs

• Multimedia Web Sites

• Ad agencies or production companies.

• Multimedia Company

Mulitmedia makes for a good interface to an application.

Intuitive Interface. Make sure icons are meaningful.

Evolution of the interface

• Text Menus by keys

• Text by mouse. Drop down menus.

• Icons and graphics

Immersive Experience - software application takes over the entire computer screen.

Computer Based Training - study at your own pace, various forms of media, cheaper, safer, more fun.

Wizards & Digital Assistants

Applications across platforms should have the same look and feel. Also similar programs have the same general concepts.

Index: visually and textually

Graphical User Interface and Metaphors

Hot Spots & Importance

Make careful use of multimedia in your application. Have the right blend of multimedia.

Don't depend heavily on designing for one platform.

Linear vs. nonlinear (interactive) media

Scripting or storyboarding helps you see the choices a user can make in your application.

Authoring tools allow you to combine your media files into a navigational project.

CD-ROMS and DVDs for delivering content, vs. floppies. Room and cost.

Compared with Internet delivery

Business uses for multimedia

• Training

• Marketing (Catalogs)

• Video conferencing

Schools

• Simulations of hazardous topics. Like chemistry where chemicals can explode.

• Look up databases of various topics, like encyclopdias

Home

• Video games

• Interactive TV

Public Places - Information Kiosks

Even game console games are developed on a PC. Some use a simulator, like to simulate the actions of intended device. Like a Palm simulator for a Palm developer.

Be organized. Watch for deadlines, budgets, and resources. Backup files and keep various file versions (so you can go back to a previous stage).

Macintoshes and Windows based machines run on different hardware. Software compiled for one machine will not run on the other machine. However you can create a cross platform CD with both Windows and Mac based code.

People that work on a project:

• Project Manager

  • Multimedia Designer

    • Interface Designer

  • Writer

  • Video Specialist

  • Audio Specialist

  • Multimedia Programmer

  • Multimedia Producer for the Web